Attack on public prosecutor in Hanau: Justice ministry reviews security measures
Following an attack by a defendant on a public prosecutor at Hanau Regional Court, Hesse's justice ministry is drawing conclusions, including structural measures.
Justice responds to attack at Hanau Regional Court
Following an attack by a shackled defendant on a public prosecutor at Hanau Regional Court, Hesse's justice ministry is reviewing possible consequences. According to hessenschau.de, Justice Minister Christian Heinz (CDU) visited the court on Wednesday and described the incident as a one-off occurrence.
Four court bailiffs overpowered the attacker on 20 May and returned him to his cell. Heinz explicitly thanked the officers for their efforts. Two of them were injured in the incident. During the meeting with the minister, the bailiffs made no comment on the incident, citing ongoing investigations.
The public prosecutor injured in the attack has been fit to work again since Monday, according to the regional court. She did not attend the visit with Minister Heinz.
As a possible consequence, Heinz cited structural measures: for proceedings involving "problematic individuals", courtrooms should be chosen, where possible, in which attacks would be more difficult to carry out. Whether a defendant is fitted with an ankle bracelet in the courtroom is fundamentally at the discretion of the presiding judge, explained regional court president Katrin Burckhardt. "We are all very shaken," she said.
At the same time, Heinz emphasised that degrading detention conditions during a trial – such as accommodation in a cage, as he had seen in Russia – were not being sought. "Degrading circumstances" were not the goal.
The defendant had jumped over his table while shackled in handcuffs during the pronouncement of sentence and struck the public prosecutor on the head. The hearing was resumed one hour after the incident in the presence of police officers. The man was sentenced to a custodial sentence for dangerous bodily harm, among other things; the court also ordered preventive detention. Further investigations are now underway regarding the attack in the courtroom.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)